1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an improvement in an electrical connector operative to connect electrically connecting terminals provided on a flat circuit device, such as a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter, referred to as an FPC) or a flexible flat cable assembly (hereinafter, referred to as an FFC), with an electrical device such as a solid circuit board, which has a housing provided to be mounted on the electrical device such as the solid circuit board and having an opening provided thereon through which the flat circuit device is inserted into the housing, holding means for engaging with the flat circuit device inserted in the housing to hold the same to be prevented from getting out of the housing unwillingly, and a plurality of conductive contacts provided for coming into contact with the connecting terminals on the flat circuit device inserted in the housing to put the same in electrical connection with the electrical device such as the solid circuit board.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
A flat circuit device, such as a relatively small-sized FPC or FFC, used in various kinds of electronic apparatus is often mounted on a solid circuit board, on which various electrical parts are directly mounted, with an electrical connector which is fixed to and connected electrically with the solid circuit board. The electrical connector has a plurality of conductive contacts, an end portion of each of which is connected electrically with a conductive circuit pattern portion formed on the solid circuit board and which are provided for coming into contact with connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device. The electrical connector thus provided with the conductive contacts is operative to couple electrically, through the conductive contacts, each of the connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device with the conductive circuit pattern portion formed on the solid circuit board.
A first type of previously proposed electrical connector which is used for connecting electrically a flat circuit device, such as an FPC, with a solid circuit board, has a housing made of insulator to be mounted on the solid circuit board and having an opening through which at least a part of the flat circuit device is inserted into the housing. On the housing, a plurality of conductive contacts are provided to be arranged along the opening provided also on the housing. These conductive contacts are operative to come into contact respectively with a plurality of connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device when the flat circuit device is inserted in the housing through the opening provided thereon. The previously proposed electrical connector of the first type is also provided with a shell member which covers wholly or partially the housing and is grounded to be operative to contribute to adjustment on characteristic impedance of each of the conductive contacts and to shield the conductive contacts in the housing from electromagnetic wave noises coming from the outside. The previously proposed electrical connector of the first type is further provided with an actuator which is set to be rotatable in regard to the housing so as to engage with each of the conductive contacts arranged in the housing. When the actuator is rotated in a first direction in regard to the housing, the conductive contacts are put in press-contact respectively with the connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device, and then, when the actuator is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction in regard to the housing, the conductive contacts put in press-contact respectively with the connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device are released from the press-contact with the connecting terminals. With the conductive contacts put in press-contact respectively with the connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device inserted in the housing, the flat circuit device is put in electrical connection with the solid circuit board.
A second type of previously proposed electrical connector which is used for connecting electrically a flat circuit device with a solid circuit board is provided with a housing to be mounted on the solid circuit board, a plurality of conductive contacts and a shell member in such a manner as mentioned above, but is not provided with an actuator rotatable in regard to the housing. In the previously proposed electrical connector of the second type thus constituted, when the flat circuit device is inserted into the housing through an opening provided thereon, each of the conductive contacts provided in the housing to be arranged along the opening is automatically put in press-contact with a corresponding one of connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device. That is, the flat circuit device is put in electrical connection with the main solid circuit board by means of only inserting correctly the flat circuit device into the housing through the opening provided thereon.
In the previously proposed electrical connector with or without the actuator rotatable in regard to the housing, when the flat circuit device is inserted into the housing through the opening provided thereon and the conductive contacts arranged on the housing are put in press-contact with the connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device so that the flat circuit device is put in electrical connection with the solid circuit board, it is required that the flat circuit device inserted in the housing is prevented from getting out of the housing unwillingly. As a matter of course, it is necessary for the flat circuit device inserted in the housing to be held stably so as not to get out of the housing unwillingly in order to keep the conductive contacts arranged on the housing properly in a condition of press-contact with the connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device.
There has been also proposed previously an electrical connector belonging to the above mentioned first type having the housing, the conductive contacts, the shell member and the actuator, which is provided also with holding means for engaging with a flat circuit device, such as an FPC or an FFC, inserted in the housing so as to hold the same to be prevented from getting out of the housing unwillingly, as shown in, for example, the Japanese patent application published before examination under publication number 2008-52993 (hereinafter, referred to as published patent document 1).
Besides, there has been further proposed previously an electrical connector belonging to the above mentioned second type having the housing, the conductive contact and the shell member except the actuator rotatable in regard to the housing, which is provided also with holding means for engaging with a flat circuit device, such as an FPC or an FFC, inserted in the housing so as to hold the same to be prevented from getting out of the housing unwillingly, as shown in, for example, the Japanese patent application published before examination under publication number 2008-192574 (hereinafter, referred to as published patent document 2).
In the electrical connector shown in the published patent document 1, the holding means (a locking portion 11c) is formed in a part of the shell member (a shield plate 11) to be able to seesaw with an engaging end portion (a claw portion 11d) curved to the inside of the shell member. The holding means is operative to shift its position in response to a movement of the actuator (an actuator 9) provided to be rotatable in regard to the housing (a housing 3).
Then, when the actuator is rotated in a first direction in regard to the housing after the flat circuit device (an FPC 21) is inserted into a receptacle space (an FPC receptacle space 34) provided in the housing, each of the conductive contacts (first contacts 5 and second contacts 6) provided in the housing is caused by a cam (a cam portion 92 or 93) formed on the actuator to shift its position so as to be put in press-contact with a corresponding one of connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device inserted in the housing and the holding means is caused by a cam (a cam portion 94) formed on the actuator to shift its position so as to cause the engaging end portion of the holding means to engage with an engaging portion (a recess 21a) formed on the flat circuit device. As a result, the flat circuit device inserted in the housing is prevented from getting out of the housing unwillingly.
After that, when the actuator is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction in regard to the housing under a condition wherein the engaging end portion of the holding means is put in engagement with the engaging portion formed on the flat circuit device, the cam (the cam portion 94) formed on the actuator allows the holding means to release the engaging end portion of the holding means from the engagement with the engaging portion formed on the flat circuit device. As a result, the flat circuit device is put in a condition to be able to get out of the housing.
Further, in the electrical connector shown in the published patent document 2, the shell member (a shell 4) is provided to be rotatable in regard to the housing (a housing body 2) and the holding means (a leg portion 46) in the form of a leaf spring is formed in a part of the shell member. The holding means has an engaging projection (44) formed at an end of the holding means to be curved to the inside of the shell member.
When the flat circuit device (an FPC) is inserted into the housing through the opening (an opening 21) provided thereon under a condition wherein the shell member is positioned to keep lying down on the housing so as to be close in its entirety to the housing, each of the conductive contacts (upper contacts 31 and lower contacts 32) provided in the housing is caused to be put in press-contact with a corresponding one of connecting terminals provided on the flat circuit device inserted in the housing and the engaging projection formed on the holding means is caused to engage with an engaging portion (an FPC engaging hole 2) provided on the flat circuit device. As a result, the flat circuit device inserted in the housing is prevented from getting out of the housing unwillingly.
After that, when the shell member is rotated to be positioned to keep rising from the housing under a condition wherein the engaging projection formed on the holding means is put in engagement with the engaging portion formed on the flat circuit device, the holding means formed in the shell member shifts its position in response to a movement of the shell member so as to release the engaging projection provided on the holding means from the engagement with the engaging portion formed on the flat circuit device. As a result, the flat circuit device is put in a condition to be able to get out of the housing.
In each of the electrical connectors thus proposed previously, which has the holding means operative to prevent the flat circuit device inserted in the housing from getting out of the housing unwillingly, the holding means is provided to be operative to shift its position in response to rotational movements of the actuator provided to be rotatable in regard to the housing, or the shell member for covering wholly or partially the housing is provided to be rotatable in regard to the housing and the holding means is formed in a part of the shell member to be operative to prevent the flat circuit device inserted in the housing from getting out of the housing unwillingly.
In the case of the previously proposed electrical connector which has the holding means operative to shift its position in response to the rotational movements of the actuator provided to be rotatable in regard to the housing, it is required that the holding means and the actuator are provided as separate parts independent from each other and this results in problems or disadvantages that miniaturization in the electrical connector is undesirably hindered, the number of constitutive parts of the electrical connector increases undesirably and a production cost of the electrical connector rises disagreeably. Besides, it is necessary, for causing the holding means to engage with or disengage from the flat circuit device inserted in the housing, to rotate the actuator in regard to the housing and this results in undesirable increase in an open space around the electrical connector.
In the case of the previously proposed electrical connector which has the shell member provided to be rotatable in regard to the housing and the holding means formed in the part of the shell member, since the shell member is operative to rotate in regard to the housing, any portion of the shell member is not able to be used for fastening the electrical connector to the main solid circuit board so that a separate holding-down member for fastening the electrical connector to the main solid circuit board is required and this results in problems or disadvantages that miniaturization in the electrical connector is undesirably hindered, the number of constitutive parts of the electrical connector increases undesirably and a production cost of the electrical connector rises disagreeably.